Late December 2016

Please Note: We will be changing the company that sends this newsletter in 2017 (which has been a very complicated year-end project!). Take a moment to add [email protected] to your address book to ensure that the newsletter does not go to your SPAM folder in the new year. For those on gmail, please note that often newsletters slip into your “promotional” emails, so be on the lookout!

Now on to our news…

Last week, some staffers and I, along with my good friend Beverley, went to the Random House Open House, which was held for the first time at Hunter College instead of the Random House offices. Author guests included Trevor Noah, Jodi Picoult (who was interviewed by Alice Hoffman), John Meacham, Diana Gabaldon, George Saunders, Fannie Flagg, Lindsey Lee Johnson, Allison Pataki, Sana Krasikov, and Laura McHugh. Each of us had favorite moments in the day. Thinking of book groups, Trevor Noah’s stories about his mom and grandmother were brilliant, and his insight into the ramifications of apartheid on his life in South Africa were personal and thought-provoking. I am going to listen to his memoir, BORN A CRIME, on audio. I also think that book groups who read Jodi’s SMALL GREAT THINGS may want to consider reading BORN A CRIME, as well, for another look at the issue of race. Our very own Rebecca Munro shares more about this very special event in her blog here.

Looking ahead to next year, I wanted to get an event for book groups on your calendars now. On Saturday afternoon, March 11th, Simon & Schuster will be hosting a "Book Club Matinee" at the Ed Sullivan Theater. Their author guests are Anthony Doerr, Isabel Allende, Lisa See, Lisa Genova, Ruth Ware and Megan Miranda. Tickets will be on-sale in January, and I am hoping to see many of you there. Much more to come about this!

This is the time of year when everyone is posting “Best Books of the Year” lists. We would like you and your book group to help us compile ours for ReadingGroupGuides.com! Click here to share both your favorite book that you read with your group this year and your favorite book that you read outside your group by Tuesday, January 31st at noon ET, and you will be eligible to win a collection of SIX fantastic titles: A PIECE OF THE WORLD by Christina Baker Kline, THE HOPE CHEST by Viola Shipman, THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE by Lisa See, THE WOMEN IN THE CASTLE by Jessica Shattuck, MUSIC OF THE GHOSTS by Vaddey Ratner and THE CHILBURY LADIES' CHOIR by Jennifer Ryan.

Please note: Your favorite book you discussed with your group CAN be the same as your favorite book of the year! And they don't have to have been published in 2016. Also, please be careful with the spelling of book titles and authors’ first and last names to save us editing time.

And speaking of end-of-the-year lists, take a look at this page where you’ll find a number of “Best Of” lists that we’ve compiled from around the web --- including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Amazon and much more.

So have you told us what your book group is reading this month? We continue with our two-month-long “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest where the prize is THE BOOK THAT MATTERS MOST by Ann Hood, which I’ve been raving about since I read it this past summer --- I chose it as a Bets On title in August. It’s an enthralling novel about love, loss, secrets, friendship and the healing power of literature, not to mention the story of how joining a book group forever changes one woman’s life. Because the book celebrates book groups, Ann’s publisher challenged her to visit 60 book clubs before her 60th birthday. She met that challenge and, in fact, she spoke with 73+(!) groups. We know that many groups have alternate plans for November and/or December, thus we are running our contest for two months. If you discuss a book each month, you can enter the contest twice and have two chances to win! As usual, we’re giving three groups the chance to win 12 copies; enter here by Wednesday, January 4th at noon ET for your chance to win.

So far, it looks like once again A MAN CALLED OVE by Fredrik Backman and THE NIGHTINGALE by Kristin Hannah are dominating your choices, with SMALL GREAT THINGS and M. L. Stedman’s THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS pulling notable numbers, too. Be sure to tell us what you are reading so we can include your group in our reporting.

We have one featured guide to share with you this month. From Shilpi Somaya Gowda, the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of SECRET DAUGHTER, comes THE GOLDEN SON, an unforgettable story of family, responsibility, love, honor, tradition and identity, in which two childhood friends --- a young doctor and a newly married bride --- must balance the expectations of their culture and their families with the desires of their own hearts. Tender and bittersweet, it's a story that illuminates the ambivalence of people caught between past and present, tradition and modernity, duty and choice; the push and pull of living in two cultures, and the painful decisions we must make to find our true selves. Click here for the featured guide.

Our Sixth Annual Bookreporter.com Bets On Contest is live. The prize books? All 40(!) of my Bets On picks from 2016. One grand prize winner will be awarded all 40 titles, while eight other winners will receive a selection of five of these titles. There are so many prize books that would be amazing for book groups, including THE GERMAN GIRL by Armando Lucas Correa, LILAC GIRLS by Martha Hall Kelly, Sue Klebold's powerful memoir, A MOTHER'S RECKONING, and THE SUMMER BEFORE THE WAR by Helen Simonson. To enter, please fill out this form by Monday, January 9th at noon ET.

Our Holiday Author Blogs are back for a ninth year! This time around, we have eight authors sharing with us some of their favorite holiday memories. So far we have heard from Hank Phillippi Ryan, Ann Hood and Caroline Leavitt. Still to come are remembrances from Laurie Lico Albanese, Marie Benedict, Martha Hall Kelly and Wendy Walker. Many thanks to all who have taken the time to write such heartwarming pieces for us!

Next up are our Reviewer Picks! We always love hearing from our reviewers what their standout books of the year were. Check out their fiction and nonfiction faves here; see which of their selections you agree or disagree with, and which titles you may want to add to your 2017 reading lists.

We have a new Word of Mouth contest to tell you about. Submit your comments about the books you’ve finished reading by Friday, January 6th at noon ET, and you’ll be in the running to win BOOKS FOR LIVING by the aforementioned Will Schwalbe (releasing December 27th) and THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD by Douglas Preston (which will be available on January 3rd).

Please also keep in mind December’s Sounding Off on Audio contest. This month, you’ll have a chance to win the audio versions of Alice Hoffman's FAITHFUL, read by Amber Tamblyn, and Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke's THE SLEEPING BEAUTY KILLER, read by Jan Maxwell. To enter, all you have to do is let us know by Tuesday, January 3rd at noon ET what audiobooks you’ve finished listening to.

We've updated our New in Paperback and Reading Roundup features for December. December’s roundup of New in Paperback fiction titles includes SWEET TOMORROWS, the conclusion to Debbie Macomber’s beloved Rose Harbor series, set in the picturesque town of Cedar Cove; BEYOND THE ICE LIMIT, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's latest thriller featuring Gideon Crew, who embarks on his most dangerous and high-stakes assignment yet...because failure will mean nothing short of the end of humankind on earth; and GONE AGAIN by James Grippando, in which Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck takes on his first death-row client since THE PARDON in a case as twisty as it is shocking.

In our Reading Roundup, Indie Next titles include MOONGLOW, a series of revelatory stories framed as the deathbed confessional of a man only referred to as "my grandfather" from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon; and journalist Julia Baird's VICTORIA: THE QUEEN, a stunning new portrait of the real woman behind the myth --- and a story of love and heartbreak, of devotion and grief, of strength and resilience. Library Reads is doing something a little different, spotlighting their top books of 2016, which include THE NEST, Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's warm, funny and acutely perceptive debut novel about four adult siblings and the fate of the shared inheritance that has shaped their choices and their lives; and Martha Hall Kelly's powerful debut, LILAC GIRLS, an incredible story of love, redemption and terrible secrets that were hidden for decades, inspired by the life of a real WWII heroine.

Whew… I think it’s time to grab a drink and a book --- and get ready to celebrate the holidays and to bring on 2017! Toasting you all with a wish for a brilliant holiday season and with endless appreciation to you for reading this newsletter, and for spending time with us on ReadingGroupGuides.com!

Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])

P.S. For those of you who are doing online shopping for books, if you use the store links below, ReadingGroupGuides.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases. We would appreciate your considering this!
 

Each month, we ask book groups to share the titles they are reading that month and rate them. From all entries, three winners will be selected, and each will win 12 copies of that month’s prize book for their group. Note: To be eligible to win, let us know the title of the book that YOUR book group is CURRENTLY reading, NOT the title we are giving away.

This month's prize book is THE BOOK THAT MATTERS MOST by Ann Hood, an enthralling novel about love, loss, secrets, friendship and the healing power of literature --- not to mention the story of how joining a book group forever changes one woman’s life. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, January 4th at noon ET.

THE BOOK THAT MATTERS MOST by Ann Hood (Fiction)
An enthralling novel about love, loss, secrets, friendship and the healing power of literature, by the bestselling author of THE KNITTING CIRCLE.

Ava’s 25-year marriage has fallen apart, and her two grown children are pursuing their own lives outside of the country. Ava joins a book group, not only for her love of reading but also out of sheer desperation for companionship. The group’s goal throughout the year is for each member to present the book that matters most to them. Ava rediscovers a mysterious book from her childhood --- one that helped her through the traumas of the untimely deaths of her sister and mother. Alternating with Ava’s story is that of her troubled daughter Maggie, who, living in Paris, descends into a destructive relationship with an older man.

Ava’s mission to find that book and its enigmatic author takes her on a quest that unravels the secrets of her past and offers her and Maggie the chance to remake their lives.

-Click here for the reading group guide.
-Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
-Click here to see why we're betting you'll love this book.
 

This is the time of year when everyone is posting “Best Books of the Year” lists. We would like you and your book group to help us compile ours! Click here to share both your favorite book that you read with your group this year and your favorite book that you read outside your group by Tuesday, January 31st at noon ET, and you will be eligible to win SIX fantastic titles:

• A PIECE OF THE WORLD by Christina Baker Kline
• THE HOPE CHEST by Viola Shipman
• THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE by Lisa See
• THE WOMEN IN THE CASTLE by Jessica Shattuck
• MUSIC OF THE GHOSTS by Vaddey Ratner
• THE CHILBURY LADIES' CHOIR by Jennifer Ryan

Please note: Your favorite book you discussed with your group CAN be the same as your favorite book of the year! And they don't have to have been published in 2016. And please be careful with the spelling of book titles and authors’ first and last names to save us editing time.

We will have our reader-compiled Best Of list to share with you in early February. We cannot wait to see what you select!
 

THE GOLDEN SON by Shilpi Somaya Gowda (Fiction)
The New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of SECRET DAUGHTER returns with an unforgettable story of family, responsibility, love, honor, tradition and identity, in which two childhood friends --- a young doctor and a newly married bride --- must balance the expectations of their culture and their families with the desires of their own hearts.

The first of his family to go to college, Anil Patel, the golden son, carries the weight of tradition and his family’s expectations when he leaves his tiny Indian village to begin a medical residency in Dallas, Texas, at one of the busiest and most competitive hospitals in America. When his father dies, Anil becomes the de facto head of the Patel household and inherits the mantle of arbiter for all of the village’s disputes. But he is uneasy with the custom, uncertain that he has the wisdom and courage demonstrated by his father and grandfather. His doubts are compounded by the difficulties he discovers in adjusting to a new culture and a new job, challenges that will shake his confidence in himself and his abilities.

Back home in India, Anil’s closest childhood friend, Leena, struggles to adapt to her demanding new husband and relatives. Arranged by her parents, the marriage shatters Leena’s romantic hopes, and eventually forces her to make a desperate choice that will hold drastic repercussions for herself and her family. Though Anil and Leena struggle to come to terms with their identities thousands of miles apart, their lives eventually intersect once more --- changing them both and the people they love forever.

Tender and bittersweet, THE GOLDEN SON illuminates the ambivalence of people caught between past and present, tradition and modernity, duty and choice; the push and pull of living in two cultures, and the painful decisions we must make to find our true selves.

-Click here for the reading group guide.
 

Our Holiday Author Blogs are back for a NINTH consecutive year. We are featuring a new blog post from an author each weekday, with the final one appearing on December 24th.

This year's contributors are Laurie Lico Albanese, Marie Benedict, Ann Hood, Martha Hall Kelly, Caroline Leavitt, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Will Schwalbe and Wendy Walker.

As always, we so appreciate all the authors who have taken the time to share these wonderful holiday memories with us.
 

• AFTER THE CRASH by Michel Bussi
• ALL IS NOT FORGOTTEN by Wendy Walker
• ALL THINGS CEASE TO APPEAR by Elizabeth Brundage
• THE ASSOCIATION OF SMALL BOMBS by Karan Mahajan
• THE ATOMIC WEIGHT OF LOVE by Elizabeth J. Church
• BEFORE THE FALL by Noah Hawley
• BEHIND CLOSED DOORS by B. A. Paris
• BEHOLD THE DREAMERS by Imbolo Mbue
• THE BOOK THAT MATTERS MOST by Ann Hood
• THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR by Shari Lapena
• CRUEL BEAUTIFUL WORLD by Caroline Leavitt
• THE DOLLHOUSE by Fiona Davis
• EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN by Chris Cleave
• FAR FROM TRUE: A Promise Falls Novel by Linwood Barclay
• GEORGIA: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe by Dawn Tripp
• THE GERMAN GIRL by Armando Lucas Correa
• THE GIRLS by Emma Cline
• GLORY OVER EVERYTHING: Beyond The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
• THE GUEST ROOM by Chris Bohjalian
• I LET YOU GO by Clare Mackintosh
• I WILL SEND RAIN by Rae Meadows
• KAROLINA'S TWINS by Ronald H. Balson
• LILAC GIRLS by Martha Hall Kelly
• MISSING PIECES by Heather Gudenkauf
• MODERN LOVERS by Emma Straub
• A MOTHER'S RECKONING: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold
• THE NEST by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
• ORPHAN X by Gregg Hurwitz
• THE OTHER EINSTEIN by Marie Benedict
• SMALL GREAT THINGS by Jodi Picoult
• THE SOUND OF GRAVEL: A Memoir (Audiobook) written and read by Ruth Wariner
• THE SUMMER BEFORE THE WAR by Helen Simonson
• THE SWANS OF FIFTH AVENUE by Melanie Benjamin
• THE THINGS WE KEEP by Sally Hepworth
• THE TWENTY-THREE: A Promise Falls Novel by Linwood Barclay
• UNDER THE INFLUENCE by Joyce Maynard
• VICTORIA by Daisy Goodwin
• THE WIDOW by Fiona Barton
• THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 by Ruth Ware
• YOU WILL KNOW ME by Megan Abbott

We've asked our reviewers to provide us with a list of some of their favorite books from 2016. Included is a mix of fiction and nonfiction titles, all published this year. Among their top picks are THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD by Colson Whitehead, WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR by Paul Kalanithi, NEWS OF THE WORLD by Paulette Jiles, AMERICAN HEIRESS: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey Toobin, LILY AND THE OCTOPUS by Steven Rowley, IMAGINE ME GONE by Adam Haslett, and THE POISON ARTIST by Jonathan Moore. Take a moment to read these varied lists of titles and see if you agree with any of their selections!
 

This is the time of year when “Best Of” lists are everywhere. These annual roundups always seem to spark lively discussions among readers as they reflect on their favorite books of the year. Although we at Bookreporter.com don’t have a “Best Of” list of our own, we’ve compiled a number of them for you here. See which of your top picks appear on these lists and which titles you feel should've been included but weren't. Perhaps you’ll even find some books to add to your reading list as we head into the new year!
 

BOOKS FOR LIVING by Will Schwalbe (Memoir)
For Will Schwalbe, reading is a way to entertain himself but also to make sense of the world, to become a better person, and to find the answers to the big (and small) questions about how to live his life. In this delightful celebration of reading, Schwalbe invites us along on his quest for books that speak to the specific challenges of living in our modern world, with all its noise and distractions.

CHRISTMAS DAYS: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days by Jeanette Winterson (Fiction/Short Stories)
For years Jeanette Winterson has loved writing a new story at Christmas time, and here she brings together 12 of these tales. For the Twelve Days of Christmas --- a time of celebration, sharing and giving --- she offers these 12 plus one: a personal story of her own Christmas memories.

OF ALL THAT ENDS written Günter Grass, translated by Breon Mitchell (Essays)
In spite of the trials of old age, and with the end in sight, suddenly everything seems possible again: love letters, soliloquies, scenes of jealousy, swan songs, social satire, and moments of happiness crowd onto the page. The late Nobel Prize-winning author Günter Grass creates a wealth of touching stories condensed into artful miniatures.

SAY GOODBYE FOR NOW by Catherine Ryan Hyde (Historical Fiction)
Dr. Lucy cares for abandoned animals on an isolated Texas ranch. But in 1959, no one is interested in a female doctor. Nor are they welcoming Calvin and Justin Bell, a newly arrived African American father and son. When Pete Solomon, a neglected 12-year-old boy, and Justin bring a wounded wolf-dog hybrid to Dr. Lucy, the outcasts soon find refuge in one another. But then the whole town turns violently against them.

THE UNDOING PROJECT: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds by Michael Lewis (Psychology/Economics)
Forty years ago, Israeli psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky wrote a series of breathtakingly original studies undoing our assumptions about the decision-making process. Bestselling author Michael Lewis examines how a Nobel Prize-winning theory of the mind altered our perception of reality.

A WOMAN LOOKING AT MEN LOOKING AT WOMEN: Essays on Art, Sex, and the Mind by Siri Hustvedt (Social Science/Essays)
Siri Hustvedt has always been fascinated by biology and how human perception works. She is a lover of art, the humanities and the sciences. She is a novelist and a feminist. Her lively, lucid essays in A WOMAN LOOKING AT MEN LOOKING AT WOMEN begin to make some sense of those plural perspectives.
 

Word of Mouth Contest: Tell Us What You're Reading --- and You Can Win Two Books!

Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from December 16th to January 6th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of BOOKS FOR LIVING by Will Schwalbe and THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD: A True Story by Douglas Preston.

To make sure other readers will be able to find the books you write about, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). For rules and guidelines, click here.

-Click here to enter the contest.
-To see reader comments from previous contest periods, click here.


Sounding Off on Audio Contest: Tell Us What You're Listening to --- and You Can Win Two Audiobooks!

Tell us about the audiobooks you’ve finished listening to with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for both the performance and the content. During the contest period from December 1st to January 3rd at noon ET, two lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of Alice Hoffman's FAITHFUL, read by Amber Tamblyn, and Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke's THE SLEEPING BEAUTY KILLER, read by Jan Maxwell.

To make sure other readers will be able to find the audiobook, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). For complete rules and guidelines, click here.

-Click here to enter the contest.
-To see reader comments from previous contest periods, click here.
 

Each month, we share top book picks from Indie Next and LibraryReads, as well as the Target Book Club title and Pennie's Pick for Costco.

Indie Next titles include MOONGLOW, a series of revelatory stories framed as the deathbed confessional of a man only referred to as "my grandfather" from Pulitzer-Prize winning author Michael Chabon; journalist Julia Baird's VICTORIA: THE QUEEN, a stunning new portrait of the real woman behind the myth --- and a story of love and heartbreak, of devotion and grief, of strength and resilience; and Trevor Noah's memoir BORN A CRIME, which recounts "The Daily Show" host's childhood in apartheid South Africa as the son of an interracial couple.

Library Reads is spotlighting their top books of 2016, which include THE NEST, Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's warm, funny and acutely perceptive debut novel about four adult siblings and the fate of the shared inheritance that has shaped their choices and their lives; THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10, bestselling author Ruth Ware's haunting follow-up to IN A DARK, DARK WOOD --- this time, set at sea; and Martha Hall Kelly's powerful debut, LILAC GIRLS, an incredible story of love, redemption and terrible secrets that were hidden for decades, inspired by the life of a real WWII heroine.
 

December’s roundup of New in Paperback fiction titles includes SWEET TOMORROWS, the conclusion to Debbie Macomber’s beloved Rose Harbor series, set in the picturesque town of Cedar Cove; BEYOND THE ICE LIMIT, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's latest thriller featuring Gideon Crew, who embarks on his most dangerous and high-stakes assignment yet...because failure will mean nothing short of the end of humankind on earth; and GONE AGAIN by James Grippando, in which Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck takes on his first death-row client since THE PARDON in a case as twisty as it is shocking.

Among this month’s nonfiction offerings are STORIES I TELL MYSELF, Juan F. Thompson's personal account of his father, Hunter S. Thompson, and of their getting to know each other during their 41 fraught years together; BROWSINGS by Pulitzer Prize-winning book critic Michael Dirda, a collection of 50 of his witty and wide-ranging reflections on literary journalism, book collecting and the writers he loves; and THE LOVERS by Rod Nordland, the story of a young couple willing to risk everything for love that puts a human face on the ongoing debate about women’s rights in the Muslim world.

-Find out what's New in Paperback for the weeks of December 5th, December 12th, December 19th and December 26th.

 

The following guides are now available on ReadingGroupGuides.com:

THE BOOK THAT MATTERS MOST by Ann Hood (Fiction)
An enthralling novel about love, loss, secrets, friendship and the healing power of literature, by the bestselling author of THE KNITTING CIRCLE.

THE GOLDEN SON by Shilpi Somaya Gowda (Fiction)
The New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of SECRET DAUGHTER returns with an unforgettable story of family, responsibility, love, honor, tradition and identity, in which two childhood friends --- a young doctor and a newly married bride --- must balance the expectations of their culture and their families with the desires of their own hearts.

HIDDEN FIGURES: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly (History)
The untold true story of the African-American female mathematicians at NASA who provided the calculations that helped fuel some of America’s greatest achievements in space.

MARLENE by C.W. Gortner (Historical Fiction)
Based on the life of legendary film star Marlene Dietrich, MARLENE imagines her rise from the gender-bending cabarets of Weimar Berlin to the film studios of Hollywood, where would become one of the world’s most iconic actresses.

THE OTHER WIDOW by Susan Crawford (Psychological Thriller)
The author of THE POCKET WIFE explores the dark side of love, marriage and infidelity in this sizzling novel of psychological suspense.

SILENCE by Shūsaku Endō (Fiction)
Shūsaku Endō's classic novel of enduring faith in dangerous times, soon to be a major motion picture directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson and Adam Driver.

 

Is your group doing anything special for the holidays? (Check as many as apply.)

Yes, we have holiday-themed meetings.
Yes, we read holiday-themed books.
Yes, we prepare special meals for our meetings.
Yes, we exchange gifts.
Yes, we do a charity-related project.
Yes, we do a cookie exchange.
Yes, we do a book swap.
No, we meet as usual.
No, we take a break from meeting during the holiday months.
Other...